1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) and a method of driving the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to an LCD having substantially reduced power consumption and improved display quality, and a method of driving the LCD.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) includes a first display substrate having pixel electrodes, a second display substrate having a common electrode and a dielectrically anisotropic liquid crystal layer interposed between the first display substrate and the second display substrate. The pixel electrodes are arranged in a substantially matrix pattern on the first display substrate and are connected to switching devices such as thin-film transistors (“TFTs”), for example. A data voltage is sequentially applied to rows of the pixel electrodes on the first display substrate. The common electrode is disposed on a surface of the second display substrate and receives a common voltage. The liquid crystal layer interposed between the pixel electrodes on the first display substrate and the common electrode on the on the second display substrate forms a liquid crystal capacitor, and the liquid crystal capacitor and a corresponding switching device connected to the liquid crystal capacitor form a basic unit of a pixel.
The LCD generates an electric field in the liquid crystal layer by applying voltages to the pixel electrodes and the common electrode. An intensity of the electric field is adjusted to control an amount of light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer. Thus, the LCD displays a desired image.
When an electric field aligned in a given direction is applied to the liquid crystal layer for a long time, a display quality of the LCD substantially deteriorates. To help prevent this problem, a polarity of the data voltage, with respect to a polarity of the common voltage, is inverted based on units of frames, rows or pixels.